Associate Professor of Ophthalmology

Vitreoretinal Service

Medical school 

Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University 

Residency

Duke Eye Center, Chief Resident

Fellowship(s)

Eye Institute Medical College of Wisconsin 

Background

Eric Postel, MD, offers a broad spectrum of state-of-the-art medical and surgical retinal care, including the surgical treatment of retinal detachment, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, diabetes, trauma, and macular disorders. He is also involved in numerous areas of research, including genetic, medical and surgical studies of age-related macular degeneration, as well as diabetic retinopathy and ocular trauma. He is the head clinician in a major study investigating the genetics and epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration. He participates actively in fellow and resident education and numerous outreach activities. In addition to his work at Duke Eye Center in Durham, he maintains a satellite clinic in Raleigh at the Taylor Vitreoretinal Center. 

Phone

919.684.3891

Fax

919.681.6474 

Research Interests

Postel's research collaboration with the Center for Human Genetics has lead to the discovery of the first major risk gene for AMD. His team is actively recruiting patients and controls for this and other studies. He is involved in numerous other projects, from clinical trials on the treatment of AMD and diabetic retinopathy to the development of novel instrumentation in our Biophysics lab.

Representative Publications 

1. Schmidt S, Klaver CCW, Saunders AM, Postel EA, Agarwal A, Small KW, Udar N, Ong JM, Chalukya MV, Nesburn A, Kenny MC, Domurath RM, Hogan M, Mah TS, Conley VP, Ferrell RE, Weeks DE, de Jong PTVM, van Duijn CM, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Gorin MB. A pooled case-control study of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene in age-related maculopathy. Ophthalmic Genetic 23(4): 209-23, 2002.
2. Arroyo J, Postel EA, Stone T, McCuen B, Egan K. A matched study of primary scleral buckle placement during repair of posterior segment open-globe injuries. British Journal of Ophthalmology 87(1): 75-8, 2003.
3. Schmidt S, Postel EA, Agarwal A, Allen IC, Walters SN, De La Paz MA, Scott WK, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Gilbert JR. Detailed analysis of allelic variation in the ABCA4 gene in age-related maculopathy. IOVS 44(7): 2868-2875, 2003.
4. Lai JC, Postel EA, McCuen BW. Recovery of vision function after removal of choroidal subfoveal perfluorocarbon liquid. Retina. Retina 2003 Dec; 23 (6): 868-870.
5. Kenealy SJ, Schmidt S, Agarwal A, Postel EA, De La Paz MA, Pericak-Vance MA, Haines JL. Linkage analysis for age-related macular degeneration supports a gene on chromosome 10q26. Mol Vis. 2004 Jan;10:57-61.
6. Schmidt S, Scott WK, Postel EA, Agarwal A, Hauser ER, De La Paz MA, Gilbert JR, Weeks DE, Gorin MB, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA. Ordered subset linkage analysis supports a susceptibility locus for age-related macular degeneration on chromosome 16p12. BMC Genet. 5(1): 18,2004.
7. Weeks DE, Conley YP, Tsai HJ, Mah TS, Schmidt S, Postel E, Agarwal A, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Rosenfeld PJ, Paul TO, Eller AW, Morse LS, Dailey JP, Ferrell RE, Gorin MB. Age-related maculopathy: A genomewide scan with continued evidence of susceptibility loci within the 1q31, 10q26, and 17q25 regions. Am J Hum Genet. 2004;75:174-89.
8. Schmidt S, Scott WK, Postel EA, Agarwal A, Hauser ER, De La Paz MA, Gilbert JR, Weeks DE, Gorin MB, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA. Ordered subset linkage analysis supports a susceptibility locus for age-related macular degeneration on chromosome 16p12. BMC Genet. 2004 Jul 6;5(1):18.
9. Haines JL, Hauser MA, Schmidt S, Scott WK, Olson LM, Gallins P, Spencer KL, Kwan SY, Noureddine M, Gilbert JR, Schnetz-Boutaud N, Agarwal A, Postel EA, Pericak-Vance MA. Complement Factor H variant increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Science. 2005 April 15; 308 (5720) Epub 2005 Mar 10.
10. Postel EA, Agarwal A, Schmidt S, FanYTR, Scott WK, Gilbert JR, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA. Comparing age-related macular degeneration phenotype in probands from singleton and multiplex families. Am J Ophthalmol. 2005 May;139(5):820-5.